Music and Technology
Carnegie Mellon University's Music and Technology program was established in 2009 as a joint project between three of the schools: The School of Music, School of Computer Science, and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Building on this interdisciplinary approach, Carnegie Mellon University's Music and Technology program gives students everything they need to become the future of the music industry.
Students at the undergraduate and graduate levels are able to hone their skills in an interdisciplinary environment, focusing on a chosen area of study, such as Recording Technology, Audio Engineering, Computer Music, Music Composition, Music Performance, and Music Theory. Our expert faculty promotes a collaborative approach to cutting-edge education that gives our students both the specialized knowledge and breadth of skills to foster development in the field of music.
The Music Technology degree programs are largely self-directed, with students working with advising faculty developing their craft in a chosen field. In this way, the Music and Technology program is incredibly customizable, with options for practiced musicians as well as students interested in the interdisciplinary study of music.
Students have worked in the following fields:
- Audio Engineering - The design and analysis of electronics, algorithms, sensors, and transducers for audio, including studies in digital audio effects and developing new musical instruments and interfaces
- Interactive Music Software - Real time performance using computers
- Music Composition - With a focus on electro-acoustic music using state-of-the-art tools and techniques
- Music Information Retrieval - Developing music databases, data mining, and large scale content based search
- Music Performance - With an emphasis on live electronic and interactive systems
- Music Programming Languages - Exploring effective ways to program music applications, including programming systems and live coding
- Musical Robotics - Electro-mechanical instruments played by computers
- Music Theory - Especially computer models and implementations, algorithmic composition, and the use of timbral and spectral models
- Recording technology - The art and science of recording music
- Sound Synthesis - Models of sound production and control, including both realistic simulations of traditional instruments and completely new sounds